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How can Indian students pursue US CPA

October 9, 2021

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This article is written by Smaranika Sen from Kolkata Police Law Institute. This article exhaustively deals with the procedure of how an Indian student can pursue US CPA.

Introduction

Certified Public Accountant is one of the most demanding and popular courses across the globe in the field of accountancy. CPA helps people in the field of accountancy to establish an illustrious career. Different countries across the world provide CPA courses like CPA Australia, CPA Canada, CPA US, etc. A burning question that comes to the mind of students is whether non-US or non-Australian or non-Canadian citizens can avail this course. The answer is a big YES! However, as this article only focuses on US CPA, we will be analysing how an Indian student can pursue US CPA.

Eligibility criteria

As already stated above, Indian students can pursue US CPA, provided some conditions are required to be fulfilled. The foremost and the important criterion is

Candidates wanting to pursue US CPA must have a 120 credit score in the field of commerce. According to the US, each year of university education in India is equivalent to a 30 credit score. As per the Indian education system for a Bachelor degree in commerce (B.Com) a student is entitled to a three-year program. The credit score as per the US is equivalent to 90 (3*30), therefore, the student becomes ineligible. A student must have a master degree in the field of commerce or MBA or be a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India or a member of Institute of Company Secretaries of India to fulfill the criterion of 120 credit score.
In case a student has pursued a B.Com degree and has obtained a first division from a NAAC ‘A’ accredited university, such a student will get the benefit of an additional 30 credit score. Therefore, such students are eligible even with their three-year bachelor’s degree program.
It is also to be noted that the United States comprises 55 states. Each state has a different procedure of eligibility. The average credit score is considered to be 120. It is followed by most of the states. However, some states also require their candidate to complete a minimum of 150 credit scores. A bachelor’s degree of a three-year program and a master’s degree of a two-year program in an Indian university is equivalent to 150 college credit hours. Any other program which gives a total of 150 college credit hours also makes the candidate eligible.

The application procedure for an Indian student

After a candidate has scrutinized their eligibility criteria, the first step is to apply for CPA in the US. Before getting through the procedures of application, let us understand the two main institutions of the CPA examination.

AICPA

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is the world’s largest association of accounting departments. Out of various purposes, one of the important purposes is to conduct the CPA examination. It plays an important role in the US CPA exam in various ways. It is equivalent to a university body or institute.

NASBA

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy is the apex body of all state boards of the United States. All 55 states of the United States have different boards conducting different procedures for the application and licensing of CPA. NASBA is considered the motherboard of all such state boards of the US.

Steps for application for an Indian student

A candidate has to apply for transcripts from one’s respective universities.
After the evaluation of transcripts has been completed by the state university, the transcript has to be sent for evaluation in the United States.
The evaluation of transcripts in the US can be sent to NASBA or World Education Services or any recognised evaluation agency.
After the evaluation process is completed in the US, the respective board or agency sends an evaluation report to the state university who in turn informs the candidate whether one is eligible or not.
It is to be noted that 55 jurisdictions of the US choose their evaluators for the evaluation process. Out of 55, 53 jurisdictions accept the evaluation of NASBA.

If a candidate is sure about the jurisdiction, one can apply for that particular jurisdiction through NASBA Decided Jurisdiction.
If the candidate is not sure about the jurisdiction, they can apply for NASBA Undecided Jurisdiction. In this process, NASBA evaluates the transcripts which had been sent by the candidate to the US and suggests three jurisdictions to the candidate as per the credit score or requirements of the candidate. After that, the candidate can choose one jurisdiction.

Examination procedure of CPA

Examination procedure and pattern is the same throughout the United States for CPA. For each paper, an examination fee has to be given every time. After the application of the candidate has been accepted, the competent authority will send a notice to the candidate.

Subjects

Four papers have to be cleared by a candidate in order to be CPA in the US. The papers are:

Auditing and attestation (AUD)
Businesses environment and concepts (BEC)
Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)
Regulation (REG)

Syllabus

Auditing and attestation

4-hour exam
Topics covered (mostly) – personal responsibility ethics and general principles, assessing risk and development processes, forming conclusions and reporting, performing procedures and obtaining evidence.

Business environment and concepts

4-hour exam
Topics included (mostly)- Corporate governance, economic concepts and analysis, financial modelling and management, information technology, operation management.

Financial accounting and reporting

4 hours exam
Topics included (mostly) – conceptual framework and financial reporting, select financial statement accounts, transactions, state and local government accounting.

Regulation exam

4-hour exam
Topics included(mostly) – professional ethics & Federal Tax procedures, Federal individual Tax, business law, entity taxation, property transaction taxation.

Time period

All four papers have to be completed within a time period of 18 months.

Pattern

The pattern of the examination is divided into Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), Task-Based Simulations and one Written Component.

Mode of exam

The examination will be held in an online mode.

Examination Centre

For Indian students, the candidates have the following options:

Giving examination in the US
Giving examination in any such Middle East countries where there is a recognised examination centre for US CPA.
Due to the pandemic, the US has administered the CPA exam at eight centres in India. They are as follows:

1. Ahmedabad

2. Bangalore

3. Calcutta

4. Chennai

5. Hyderabad

6. Mumbai

7. New Delhi

8. Trivandrum

Study materials available for CPA

One can get various materials on the internet to prepare for the CPA exam. There are various sample papers available on the internet. While some are available free of cost, some require some monetary charges. Some of the websites which provide sample papers are:

From various researches, there are some suggestions of CPA courses for the candidate out there:

Becker
Roger
Surgent
Gleim
Ninja

How are these courses beneficial for the candidate?

As an average analysis of all the courses the structures of these courses are as follows:

Once a candidate opts for a course, the candidate will eventually receive a study timeline based on their exam date.
Various pre-tests will be taken to determine the candidate’s efficiency on the subject.
They provide online recorded lectures, recommend textbooks, etc.
They also take mock tests.

Licensing of CPA

Different states have different procedures and eligibility criteria for licensing. However, it is to be kept in mind that a 150 credit score is a must for obtaining a licensing certificate in most of the US states. In order to get the license of CPA, a candidate has to clear:

AICPA Ethics exam
Work experience requirements
Payment for licensure fees

Monetary expenditure

The overall expenditure for US CPA is at a higher end. It takes almost 4 lakhs approximately in India for a candidate to become a US CPA. This cost includes application expenses, examination fees, travel fees, subject material fees, licensing fees, etc.

Application expenditure

For transcripts, it requires almost 1500 INR for a bachelor degree and for a master degree or any other equivalent course it requires 1700 INR approx.
Application fees can be given only once, provided the student has filled in all the details of four papers.
The application fees differ from state to state.
The expenses for sending those transcripts to the US and evaluating them requires

Through NASBA Decided Jurisdiction – $225 approx
Through NASBA Undecided Jurisdiction – $350 approx
Through Joseph & Silny – $190 approx

There are also certain other foreign evaluators who more or less require this expenditure as stated above.

Examination expenses

Each subject requires examination fees (per 4 papers).
Examination fee differs from state to state.
In India, a candidate giving an examination of US CPA is required to spend approximately INR 2,00,000 without a training fee.

Licensing expenses

It differs from state to state.

Scope

There are multiple opportunities for a Certified Public Accountant. One can work in various fields starting from accounting, auditing, US taxation, consulting, etc. One can also opt for business, freelancing, etc. The average pay scale of a US CPA in India is 7 lacs approx. However, one can check their job requirements and payment scale on PayScale or any other website. The US CPA gives global exposure rather than concentrated US job opportunities. The two most established fields are auditing and taxation. These two fields are considered financially best both from India and an international perspective. However, other fields like accounting, consulting also give huge salaries and career growth to US CPA candidates.

In India

Indian based companies like KPMG, PwC, Deloitte, EY, etc have a large number of the US clients that require US CPA candidates for auditing, taxation etc. Certain other companies in India are US based and have offices in India. In such offices, the US CPA candidates are strongly recommended.

International

Popular US-based companies like Apple, Amazon, Capgemini, Cognizant, etc require US CPA candidates for US taxation, auditing etc. As already stated above, US CPA gives exposure globally, so it is suggested that a candidate wants to opt for US CPA must-have service choices not only in the US but also outside the US. The immigration laws for an Indian to the US only based on US CPA are quite different and complicated than other courses

Conclusion

CPA is a very promising component in one’s career growth. If a candidate wants to opt for CPA, one should research very well and choose their jurisdiction as per requirements. It helps in career development, gives career security, job satisfaction and various monetary benefits.

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References

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